


Famous Last Words

by Ridea



Category: Divergent (Movies), Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: Gen, Some Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-16 21:37:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3503669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ridea/pseuds/Ridea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dauntless didn't breed children, they bred demons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Famous Last Words

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ParadigmFlaws](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParadigmFlaws/gifts).
  * Translation into Русский available: [Золотые слова](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6343717) by [Walter_Kovacs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walter_Kovacs/pseuds/Walter_Kovacs)



> I had a lot of fun with this. It came form the idea of Eric vs. young children and who would win. Hope you like it. 
> 
> Warning: there's some swearing. Just an FYI.

_“They're just kids.”_  
Famous last words. Just kids his ass. No wonder the girl had tried not to laugh at him before wishing him luck. Dauntless didn't breed children, they bred demons.  
  
It had started out simply.  
He had been told to check on the children's centre and ensure they had everything they needed. The girl, seeing him there, had asked if he would look after them because of some emergency. She had tried to warn him, but he was a leader of Dauntless. How hard could it be?

He sent her away with a glare, and settled in, leaning against the wall as the children played. It was only as he was toying with one of his knives, picking at his nails that he stopped, realizing something. It was quiet. Too quiet.  
He looked up. The children who had been playing at the small tables that were set up were gone. Eric pushed himself off the wall. They were nowhere in sight and surprisingly quiet, considering that when he came in it was to a wall of noise that left him utterly perplexed that there were only seven children in the room and not thirty five.  
He narrowed his eyes.  
They couldn't have gone far. The legs were too small and he didn't hear the door open, which meant they were still in the room. He stood up straight. “Come on out,” he demanded. “I'm not playing.”  
There was no response. He thought he heard a muffled giggle, but there was no sudden appearance of any children. He didn't move. He was a leader of Dauntless. He didn't go looking for children who had yet to even disappear from the room. He had better things to do...unless there was another way out. One that he didn't know about. He inwardly sighed and moved away from the wall. He really didn't want to have to deal with parents complaining about their children lost and accidentally slipping into the chasm. He'd never heard the end of it from Max.  
He quickly realized he was at a disadvantage. The children were surprisingly adept at using their size and their environment to their advantage, and any attempts he had made in seeking them were foiled by his mere size. They hid well.  
  
He was officially intrigued.  
He had been wandering around, looking for these kids and if he hadn't heard small sounds of their laughter, he would have thought they had disappeared. Instead, they were lying in wait. Every time he thought he got close, they were suddenly in another part of the room. It was frustrating, until he realized that it was a game. He was always a fan of war games. Well, if they wanted to play, he'd play.  
He stood in place for moment and closed his eyes, listening. It was silent but the longer he stood there, the bolder the children grew. He could be patient.  
“Was he doing?”  
“He's takin' a nap!”  
“Boooorrrrinnnggg.”  
“Shhh!” one kid hushed the others. “We's gotta have a plan.”  
“But whhyyyyyy?”  
“'Cause that's how it's done. To beat the bad guy, you gotta plan and then get him.”  
“He's scawy and weally weally big. What is he stomps us?”  
“He's not gonna stomps us. Miss J would be mad.”  
“Miss J. is scary.” There was a pause. “I miss her.”  
“He's the bad guy, so we gotta beat him so we can find her and saves her.”  
“Yeah!”  
“Ok! We saves Miss J!”  
He had heard enough. He knew where they were hiding. He opened his eyes and moved quickly. As he shoved the bookshelf to the side, the children looked up and screamed. They scattered like the wind, moving faster than he expected. He caught one of them by the back of his shirt, hooking his finger in the collar. It didn't last long. One of the other children kicked him in the shin, startling him enough that the kid in his grasp got away.  
“GIVE US MISS J. BACK MEANIE!” the girl who kicked him yelled.  
“GET HIM!” Another followed. Eric turned to face the kids who swarmed around him. How seven children caused this much chaos, he didn't know, but as he felt ribbon, _ribbon_ , wrap around his legs, he made a mental note never to underestimate them again.  
  
Fuck. If anyone saw this, they'd never let him live it down. Eric was careful of the children as he tried to move away. He didn't actually want to hurt them. He wasn't that much of a bastard.  
The ribbon was fairly loose, and Eric's curiosity won over his desire to win. He would see what they were planning, and then turn it against them. Best they learn early, after all.  
They sat him down in a chair and proceeded to wrap ribbon around his chest and the back of the chair. His hands were still loose.  
“We's got you now!” The kid in front of him, pointing his stubby little finger at him, was the same one who had come up with the plan. The other kids moved to stand behind their so called leader. He was clearly the oldest, at most 7 years old. The child looked triumphant, blue eyes glowing above chubby little cheeks.  
Eric raised his eyebrows. “So it seems,” he replied.  
“We's Miss J?” One of the younger ones asked. He assumed the kid meant to ask where the girl went.  
“She left,” Eric said. A smirk played on his lips as he considered his next words. “She didn't say if she was coming back.” That should throw them into chaos.  
Five seconds later, he quickly realized that it did not go as planned.  
“She's never comin' back?” Someone asked, and with it, lips started quivering and he could see tears starting to form in their eyes. Fuck.  
“Do you really think she'd leave and not come back?” He asked quickly.  
“Wells,” one of the girls said, “maybe we've been bad and she doesn't like us anymore!”  
“Yeah!” Another one agreed.  
“Miss J. wouldn't never come back!” their leader quickly said. “He's stole her and we's gotta get her back.” The kid turned to glare at Eric. “Give her back!”  
Eric tried not to sigh and instead pulled himself free of his loose bonds. The children gasped and backed up a few steps. Eric stayed seated and looked at them. “If you want her back, you need to be better at...beating the bad guy.” What the fuck was he doing? “You used your environment well, but –”  
He was cut off by one of the boys. “Was that mean?”  
“The room,” he explained. “I only found you because you were too loud.” The leader glared at the other kids and he could see some of them blush. He'd be a good Dauntless, if he kept this up. “You want Miss J. back?” All the kids nodded. “Then you need to defeat me. Build something to hide behind, find weapons and things to throw to keep me out. Tie better knots.” He could see the gleam in some of their eyes and he watched as some of the kids started talking to each other. The one child who proclaimed himself leader, shushed them.  
“Yous gotta close your eyes and give us ten seconds,” the kid declared.  
“No! A hunded!” Another proclaimed.  
“Yeah!” All of them seemed to yell.  
Eric pretended to think about it. The kids likely wouldn't know 100 from ten, but he'd humour them. How much could they do under two minutes. He nodded. “A hundred seconds.” He stood up from the chair and stepped out of the ribbon. “Starting now.”  
“You're cheating! You're eyes are open!”  
He had to stop himself from rolling them before he closed his eyes and started counting. There was a flurry of movement and he could hear some chairs being dragged across the floor. This was too easy. He gave them the twenty extra seconds, making into a whole two minutes before he finally opened his eyes.  
  
He regretted the extra time immediately.  
The entire room had been thrown into chaos. The children had made a barricade, using the bookshelves and an impressive set of blocks. He was almost impressed at the sheer size and complexity of it, though he spotted a couple of weak spots easily. The chairs had been moved around the room, and ribbon had been tied around them, across the floor creating a maze of trip wire. None of the children were in sight, but he heard giggling behind the barricade. Too easy.  
He stepped forwards carefully, moving slowly through the trip wires which were set up at different heights. He was about halfway through when he heard it. There was a screech of chair against floor. Eric's head snapped in the direction of the sound only to see one of the kids standing behind the chair. The child grinned, showing a missing tooth before he yanked the chair towards him, tightening the ribbon around Eric's feet. He giggled as Eric's eyes narrowed.  
Eric lifted his foot, confident that he could break free of it, when another chair screeched in the opposite direction, taking the ribbon with it. He put his foot down, over top some of the ribbon tangling below him and looked for the next kid. A girl with blond pigtails giggled and waved. Suddenly, movement caught his eye and a giant crash sounded as Eric watched a large tub fell on it's side and water splashed out, pouring at his feet. Cheers were heard around the room.  
“Is this it?” Eric asked. Wet feet and a tangled ribbon? He took another step forward, snapping one line of ribbon. As he stepped down into the water though, his foot slipped out from underneath him. He caught his balance just in time. It wasn't just water.  
More laughter from the children. He took a deep breath. They were just kids.  
He tried to shake off the ribbon and took another step forward, carefully. When he didn't slip, he smirked. Something hit his chest. He stared down at the ball that hit him. It was fairly soft, and did little damage. Another step. One of the kids slid past him, laughing. Ignoring the growing frustration at how long this was taking, Eric moved forward only to be hit in the head with something much harder than a ball. These children had no idea who they were dealing with.  
Eric took another step, only to stop when one of the children appeared in front of him. It was the leader of the group. Eric watched him carefully. The kid was proving to be intelligent and strategic, in his own way. The boy smiled widely at him before squeezing the bottle he held in his hands. Bright purple paint came flying out at Eric's face. Eric took a step back, wiping at his face. The brat had nearly gotten it into his eyes. His leg hit something in the step back though and as Eric turned to catch himself, another kid darted around him. He realized too late that they were holding something that wound around him, sticking in place instead of falling loosely. One yank on whatever they were holding and Eric lost his balance.  
He fell face first, his hands unable to come up to stop his fall. He could taste the soapy water. There was cheering, but the children didn't let up. Instead, despite his struggles, he felt them tape his hands together until there wasn't an inch of skin showing. He couldn't get a grip on the floor to stand, but he turned himself over so that he could see. His eyes were burning. If they weren't just kids, he'd be planning an excruciating death.  
  
A clicked seemed to echo through the classroom and Eric forced himself to sit up, startling some of the children. The door opened and in walked the same girl who had left him there. Her eyes widened at the sight of the room before finding him instantly. He could see the smile that threatened to break out on her face.  
“Miss J! Miss J!” The children went running towards her, leaving him alone.  
“Stop!” she commanded, holding up a hand. He watched in amazement as the children stopped moving instantly. “Line!” The children all lined up quickly against the wall. She glanced at him, prompting him to work on the bonds on his hands. The soap and water on the floor helped erase the stickiness of the tape, allowing him to slip his hand out. “What,” she demanded, “happened?” All the kids started talking at once until she held her hand up and they fell silent. With a single motion, she had done what he couldn't. “Nora?”  
The blond with the pigtails stepped forward. “Benny said he was a bad guy and you were gone and we thoughts you weres never coming back agains and the bad guys says that you weren't unless we could beat him and we beat him and you came back!” She didn't even pause for breath.  
“Okay,” Miss J. said. “You guys know I always come back, and do you think that was okay to do to Mr. Eric, who is one of our leaders?” At that, some of the kids' eyes widened. They shook their heads. “So what do you say to him?”  
“Sowry Mr. Eric!” They all chimed. He narrowed his eyes at them but nodded.  
“Now,” Miss. J. said, “clean up.”  
There were some groans, but Eric watched surprised as the children moved quickly and started putting everything away. The girl, Miss. J., walked over to him.  
“You alright?” she asked. There was a smirk on her lips. He glared. “I tried to warn you.”  
“You did,” he agreed. “I was not expecting...”  
“I know. No one ever does.” She helped him untangle himself from the ribbon on the floor. “They're not bad kids...but they know how to take advantage of strangers.”  
“You seem to have a knack for them,” he said, after standing. She nodded and walked over to the counter. She didn't seem phased by the water on the floor. Instead, she handed him some napkins. He wiped his face.  
“Takes practice,” she grinned.  
“Hmm.” Before he could say more, something tugged on his pants. It was the leader.  
“Isaiah,” Miss. J. greeted.  
The boy stared at Eric carefully. “Are yous really a leader?” he asked.  
Eric nodded. “I am.”  
“Are yous gonna come back?” the boy asked.  
“Yeah!” some of the children cheered. “Come back! Come back!” they demanded. One look from Miss. J. had them all silent in seconds. He was more than a little impressed.  
“Maybe,” Eric finally answered. It was enough to earn a grin from the boy before Miss J. Sent him back to clean up the paint. Eric looked at her. “How are you not a leader?” The reverence and fear she inspired in the children was impressive. They seemed to fear and love her.  
She smiled. “They offered,” she said. “I said no.”  
“Why?”  
“This is far more exciting.” She looked at him, clearly trying not to laugh before she spoke. “You should go. It's nearly lunch. I don't think you want to be around when there's food nearby.” He nodded, heading her warning this time and took his leave. “If you ever get bored,” she offered before he got to the door. “You're always welcome back.” He tried not to flee.

 


End file.
